SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sophomore Janae DeFazio scored in the first half and assisted on two more in the second half as St. Francis cruised to a 3-0 win over Modesto on Wednesday in the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs.

“Janae is very dangerous and she has a lot of responsibility on this team,” said Head Coach Maryclaire Robinson. “She has handled that really well this year. For her to get a chance and put it away early in the first half takes all the pressure off.”

DaFazio scored her team-best 16 goal of the season in the 30th minute off any assist by Lindsey Porter off a short corner. The Troubadours took the lead into the half and then added insurance in the second to secure the win.

“The pressure was on them to counter and it allows us to play with more confidence and take on a little more danger without a fear of failure,” said Robinson. “It allowed us to settle in more. Both teams were a little anxious in the first.”

Senior Savannah Tijerino-Santos scored off an assist by DeFazio 15 minutes into the second half and freshman Marli Berry added a third goal with four minutes left.

“Savvy put it away with individual talent and then we had a great team goal,” said Robinson. “That passing combination was something we train for and it was nice to have it happen.”

It was the 10th goal of the season goal for Tijerino-Santos and Berry recorded her fifth of her season.

“It always scary to just be up one because anyone can come back,” said Tijerino-Santos. “The second goal really helped us get in the attacking zone.”

The St. Francis defense held tough against the Panthers, pitching a shutout with the goalie combination of senior Kaitlyn Hendrickson and sophomore Sydney Galvan.

“We didn’t really allow them to push into our defensive third much,” said Padilla. “We got it out quickly and did not allow them much back there.”

St. Francis advances to the Section quarterfinals on Friday. The Troubadours will host Folsom, who upset third-seeded Turlock 2-0 in overtime.

“We are really excited to continue in the playoffs,” said senior Abby Padilla, who celebrated her birthday on Wednesday.  “We have worked really hard this season and this game we really connected well. We played the balls thru and it is how we ended up scoring.”

Game time is set for 3 p.m. at Granite Regional Park on Friday. The two teams met in December with the Bulldogs posting a 1-0 home win.

“I love my team and I feel we have a good chance at succeeding this year,” said Tijerino-Santos. “It all pays off with hard work and (hopefully) the hard work takes us to the finals.”

SF – DeFazio, Tijerino-Santos, Berry.